Tuesday 4: Spring

 

Spring

Hello and welcome back to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.


1. Spring cleaning is a very old tradition. Some say it began with Passover and removing leaven from the home and the fact that windows begin to be thrown open. What Spring cleaning do you do?

When we lived up north it seemed that "spring cleaning" had a lot more emphasis and importance...opening up the windows and letting the fresh air inside after a long cold winter with the house sealed up tight to keep it warm.  Taking off the extra blankets and quilts and washing the bedding, shaking out the rugs, etc.  Since we live in the south "spring cleaning" isn't as significant as it was in the north, but it is something we tend to do seasonally anyway.  Changing the decor from winter warm colors and fabrics to lighter summery looks...maybe even washing some curtains and slip covers on furniture (if you have any), washing windows, sweeping the porch and getting rid of all the dust and pollen that has accumulated in the early spring days.  I did a little bit of spring cleaning a week ago in preparation for our overnight guests. I had to get the guest room ready and clean the guest bathroom. I also purchased some new towels and sheets.

Here's the guest room, all cleaned and ready for company. 

And I did clean off the porch tables and chairs and made sure they were ready for guests so we could have a little porch time and watch the birds, which we did.

2. Does daylight saving time make any difference in your life for good or bad?

Yes, it does affect me adversely.  I do not like the change in time in either direction and I wish they would fix it one way or the other and then leave it alone. The older we get the harder it seems it is to adjust to the time change each spring and fall. I really don't see where it helps anyone and it needs to be stopped. I do like having longer days in the summer, however...so let's leave it that way!

3. Do you have a spring reading/watch list or perhaps a 'to do' list?

I probably do have a "to do" list, but haven't quite figured it out yet. Our schedule has been mostly guided by things like Doctor appointments, helping at Dixie Cottage, church activities, and family activities.  My personal "to do" list has to be fit inside of those parameters, and there really isn't a lot of time left over.  Some things might be changing in the near future, but I will save that for a later post and keep you wondering. LOL. Nothing bad, so don't worry.

4. The "peepers" are back here by the water. There are thousands of this itty bitty frogs(the size of a finger nail) peeping like loud birds. What signs of spring are showing up in your neck of the woods and what Spring flower is your favorite to see blooming?

I am not seeing too many flowers right now. We already had our azaleas blooming and they are done already. I need to get some fresh flowers planted. My butterfly garden that I planted last year is starting to regrow and I am hopeful there will be some new flowers there soon.  My gardening skills are not very good these days. I need  to get out there and do something about it, but my shoulder/arm issues keep me from doing very much. It is what it is.

The signs of spring that we DO see are as follows...these pictures are JUST FROM YESTERDAY and TODAY, so hold on to your hats and enjoy the ride:

The Sand Hill Crane family continue to visit us on our side of Still Waters Pond every day! 

Little Pat and Val are growing like weeds already!

This morning we were visited by Goldfinches and Cardinals

This is a female Goldfinch, transitioning into her breeding plumage!

Mama Blue Bird looks like she has some kind of worm to feed the babies...the parents are busy still feeding the baby birds...but I think they will be fledging soon...

This sparrow came for a tea party:

Yesterday we had a flock of Cedar Waxwings land for a pool party:

They were checking out the  holly tree and looking for berries, but they are too late. The squirrels ate them all last fall.

So they just stayed for a nice long drink and then flew on to their next stop:

Daddy Bluebird is hoping the babies will come out soon so he can stop going back and forth every few minutes to feed them:

And those are my current signs of spring right here in our yard.  I barely have time to do my spring housecleaning because I'd rather be watching these birds!

Thanks again to Annie, our hostess, for coming up with questions for us each week.

I hope you will play along and tell us what you enjoy about spring time.

Now let's go check out what others are already writing over here at the Tuesday 4 Link Up

Have a blessed and beautiful spring my friends.

Enjoy watching all of God's creation outside your open windows.